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26 February 2013

I love typography and I love a good quote - be it funny, moving or just one of those things that make you think 'yes! that's how things are!'. So welcome to Typography Tuesday, a semi-occasional possibly-maybe series (you know I never like to over commit on this blog...) in which I share a quote that's recently caught my eye or ear in some of my favourite fonts.

We re-watched Muriel's Wedding over the weekend. If you haven't seen it you should. It's an Australian comedy classic. It's ugly and funny, sad and uplifting; all the things a good comedy should be. And Toni Collette as Muriel is so, so great. I'm not a big ABBA fan myself, but this quote struck me. It's one of those brilliantly written bits in a movie that make you chuckle and shed a little tear at the same time.

The font is Funkydori by Laura Worthington. It's not free, but it's awesome. And as much as I think it's great when we can get fonts for free I also think it's nice to buy a font when you can to support all those amazingly talented designers out there.

I'm super excited to have a guest post up on Red Parka Diaries. It's all about how to stay creative and inspired when you're living out of a suitcase or just far from home.

I've long admired Jennifer's Instagrams. Seeing her happy hounds on the beach in Tasmania always makes me want to spend a weekend in Hobart, immersing myself in Tassie's natural beauty and handcrafts. And her blog is just as lovely too! So click on over and have a read, if you like!

21 February 2013

...(drum roll please)...we're moving back to Sydney! Come July 1 we will once again be calling Australia home!

We've been in Seoul for three years now, and we've been away from Australia for about 6 years all up. It's been an amazing, eye-opening, wonderfully awesome (and yes, at times wonderfully frustrating) experience that I will always, always treasure. But the time has come to say goodbye to Asia.

At the moment I'm in that strange limbo phase where my day-to-day life is still in Seoul, but half my head is living in Sydney. And where I'm falling in love with Seoul all over again, because I know I can't take it for granted any more. All those little Korean things that were driving me batty a month ago? They now make me smile fondly, wistfully.

I'm also in the phase where thinking about all the packing and organising and moving makes me break out in a nervous sweat. The logistics of moving your house/life across oceans can feel a little overwhelming at times. Especially when - just to add another layer of difficulty - we are about to start a fairly major renovation on our house in Sydney. The move is months away but already I'm waking up every morning with a to do list running through my head...

But! Let's forget about all those minor details for a moment and focus on the exciting awesomeness that is everything Australia has to offer - blue skies, stars at night, beaches, family, dog friendly everything, the step sons, craft get togethers, cheese, great restaurants, op shops, bike rides, clean air, opportunity...

20 February 2013

Blue and white are a bit of a chameleon pair. Think of sky blue and white and it's all beach towels and boat houses and sunny Greek islands. But dial up the darkness on the blue a little and suddenly it's all oh la la - breton tops, berets and strolling the French riviera. And go darker still and it's all things nautical - yachts and sailors, brass buttons and the Royal Navy. Kind of impressive that one pairing of colours can evoke so many memories and cliches. I can't think of another that does, can you?

ps. That top diptych is a sunny day in Tokyo paired with a snowy day in Seoul!

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Every month through 2013 I'll be 'collecting colours', and you can join in too! Just create something, anything based on the colour pair for each month. Link up below, Instagram, Tweet and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here. You can go here to get all the information you need.

19 February 2013

I've just got home from a wonderful but berloody exhausting trip. Visits to Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, plus hotel changes and trips to the beach meant that over ten days I ended up sleeping in eight different bedrooms. Yawn. It was so great seeing the step-sons and my nephews and hanging out in the sunshine (I am definitely over Winter, COME ON SPRING!), but gosh it is so good to be home.

Now I'm madly, madly trying to catch up on things. There's a Collecting Colours post heading your way in the next few days, and some BIG news (at least for us anyhow), but in the meantime I've added a few more goodies to the Great Good Things Garage Sale.

08 February 2013

These were taken a few lazy Sundays ago, sitting in bed with the husband, the hounds and the paper. Whenever Ferdi gets on the bed he runs straight up to nab the prime spot, right near my pillows. If I want to lie down I have to physically move him (in the bottom photo I'm pretty sure he's desperately pretending he doesn't know I'm there so he doesn't have to move). He's really quite stubborn and demanding, old Ferdi. Have I mentioned he kicks you with he's little (but surprisingly strong) paws if he wants a pat? But look at those eyes! We can't resist, could you?

05 February 2013

I've been wanting to go to Nan Lian Gardens for about five years now. I'd read such lovely things about these gardens, and I'd recommended them to others (who all reported back such lovely things too). But in all my trips to Hong Kong I'd somehow managed not to get there. Perhaps because I'm such a Hong Kong Island girl, I kind of get (happily) trapped there and forget there's so much more to explore. But last trip, just before I headed to the airport, I finally caught the MTR out to Diamond Hill and got to see the gardens for myself. It was a warm, sunny weekday and the gardens were peaceful and quiet and beautiful. The golden pavilion, the bridges and waterfalls, the bonsai - wonderful! Along with CitySuper, my waxer*, the Star Ferry and Life Cafe I think Nan Lian Gardens might get added to the list of regular stops for Hong Kong visits.

*Her name is Joey and she is without doubt the best waxer in Hong Kong, possibly the world. She's been looking after my depilatory needs for five years now, and I've seen her go from working for someone else to breaking out and starting her own business. If we ever leave Asia she might be the thing I miss the most. Seriously.

03 February 2013

Some shots from my recent Hong Kong trip, taken with my fancy new 35mm wide angle lens. I kind of bought this lens on whim - I just had an idea that I wanted a 35mm lens, but hadn't done much more research than that. I went for the new Canon f/2 lens with image stabilisation.

After reading some online reviews it seems I probably paid too much for this when I should have just gone for Canon's basic 35mm lens...but! I haven't taken this lens off my camera since buying it so no regrets.

I love the depth of field you can get with it - similar to the 50mm lens but without having to stand a long way away from your subject. There's little bit of 'light fall off' (basically, vignetting) at very low apertures too, which I actually really love. It's solid but light, quick to focus and is one of those lenses that's meant to closely reflect what the eye sees. A new favourite for me!

All of these images where taken just above Central on Hong Kong Island. I normally stay in the area when I visit, it's so full of life. The little streets are crammed with shops selling herbal tea, chinese medicine and all kinds of festive goods; there are wet markets full of fruit, flowers and tofu; and busy dai pai dongs (open-air food stalls). Plus you're only a step away from bars, cafes (including the delicious Mana!), and seriously good coffee (as good as you'll find in Melbourne, and that's a big call!). It's a perfect mix of old and new, slap-dash and mannered.

01 February 2013

Oh dear lord! Finally! Getting this post up on the blog has been a bit like giving birth, but harder. (Yep, fairly obvious I've never actually given birth to an actual human being right?). I've been battling to do lists, travel (Japan! Hong Kong!) and my own stupidity...but hurrah! It's here!

Orange and blue, how I love you! It is one of my long time favourite colour combinations, which is pretty much the reason why I picked it as the colour pair to kick off the year. I've never really figured out why I love it so much, but thanks to this post on Brandi's blog I now know that it's a complementary pair - they sit directly opposite each other on the colour wheel. And apparently paring them brings out the essential orangeness of orange and the essential blueness of blue. Intriguing.

All but one of the above photos was taken in Tokyo where I just spent three wonderful days (more on that later...). The first shot is from Hong Kong, in the wet markets near Central - one of my favourite places to be, especially with my camera.

ps. There is an orange and blue pom pom coming, soon...it's been a crazy start to the year!

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Every month through 2013 I'll be 'collecting colours', and you can join in too! Just create something, anything based on the colour pair for each month. Link up below, Instagram, Tweet and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here. You can go here to get all the information you need.